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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Beware of the Send button

Within seconds of clicking the Send button I regretted it.

Even though I had mulled over what I would respond to a friend's email for over a week, even though I had had a sleepless night about it the night before, even though I went over and over my words carefully, I was sorry after I sent my response. Hopefully I'll have a chance to make amends with time, but I can never erase those words that are forever out there in cyberspace.

This age of immediate communication is so different from the time when I wrote letters. Then, I'd actually write out the words by hand, reading and rereading as I wrote. Then I'd address the envelope, put a stamp on it, and take it to a nearby mailbox. All of this took time. All of this gave me time to think about what I was writing and whether it was appropriate to send.

I also think the same goes for what I write on Facebook. In fact, I need to be even more careful there because so many more people have access to what I post. This blog post will be there almost instantaneously.

So, take it from me. Think hard before clicking that Send button. Don't end up sorry like me.

National Association of Memoir Writers

About Me

Madeline SharplesI’ve worked most of my professional life as a technical writer, grant writer, and proposal process manager and began writing poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction when my oldest son, Paul, was diagnosed as manic depressive. I continued writing as a way to heal since his death by suicide in 1999. My memoir, "Leaving the Hall Light On," first released on Mother's Day 2011 in hard cover, is about living with my son's bipolar disorder and surviving his suicide. My publisher, Dream of Things, is launching a paperback edition in July 2012 and an eBook in August 2012. I also co-edited Volumes 1 and 2 of "The Great American Poetry Show," a poetry anthology, and wrote the poems for two books of photography, "The Emerging Goddess" and "Intimacy." Besides having many poems published in print and online magazines, I write regularly for several websites: Naturally Savvy, PsychAlive, Open to Hope,and Journeys Through Grief and occasionally for The Huffington Post. I maintain two blogs: Choices and at Red Room.